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SA Strippers Blast City, Court Nudity Ruling

San Antonio club dancers are blasting the city this morning, after the so called 'human display ordinance' was upheld by a federal judge, 1200 WOAI's Michael Board reports.

One dancer, whose name we agreed not to use, says the rule that anyone who works in a club which allows topless dancing has to wear an identification bracelet will put her safety in danger.

She says she is worried that fixated fans, and strippers have a lot of those, will find out her identity and start stalking her.

"What they are doing, is putting our safety at risk," she said. "This is why we come up with stage names."

In one of the most colorful bench rulings ever seen in San Antonio Federal Court, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ruled that the law which requires clubs, bars, restaurants, and other establishments to have their employees were full 'bikini tops' or be covered under the restricting human display ordinance is not a violation of the dancers' First Amendment rights to self expression.

"In order to avoid being classified as human display establishments, Plaintiffs changed their dancers' attire to g-strings and pasties over the female breast," Biery wrote. "Doing so enabled them to operate under dance hall licenses instead of having SOB status and having to obtain permits, reconfigure buildings, and possibly relocate."

Biery said the topless bars which sued have 'failed to show that semi-nude erotic dancing does not have adverse secondary effects, and therefore plaintiffs have failed to show that granting the injunction will not adversely affect the public interest.'

The bars argued that there is no proof to show that sexually oriented establishments lead to more crime and other 'adverse effect.' Biery ruled that the burden of proof is on the clubs, and they failed to prove that claim.

"To bare or not to bare, that is the question," Biery wrote. "While the Court finds these businesses to be nefarious magnets of mischief, the court doubts several square inches of fabric will staunch the flow of violence and other secondary effects emanating from these businesses, sex and money, south to be covered with constitutional prophylactics. Alcohol, drugs, testosterone, guns, and knives are more likely the causative agents than the female breast, proving once against that humans are a peculiar lot. But case law does not require causation between nudity and naughtiness."

City officials declined to respond to several phone calls and e-mails seeking comment.

But the exotic dancer told 1200 WOAI's Michael Board that the ruling is unfair.

"We are not just 'strippers' or 'dancers'," she said. "We are citizens just like anybody else. We have rights, too."